March 28, 2002

Cat Scratches
The University of Kentucky baseball team will play host to No. 15 Ole Miss this weekend in a three-game Southeastern Conference series at Shively Field. The series between the Wildcats (11-12, 2-4 SEC) and Rebels (18-7, 2-4 SEC) will open on Friday, March 29 at 6 p.m. ET, when UK will play its first night game in the newly constructed Cliff Hagan Stadium.

Meeting for the first time in 1925, UK and Ole Miss have battled 42 times with the Rebels owning a 24-18 series lead. The Wildcats, winning the series against UM the past two seasons, have won the past four out of six contests. Mississippi won the inaugural game, 5-0, in Oxford in 1925. In their last meeting, the Cats claimed the series, 2-1, winning 6-0, falling 5-3 and taking the rubber game, 7-6, at Swayze Field on March 9-11, 2001. Coach Keith Madison is 18-22 overall against the Rebels and owns a 12-9 record vs. Ole Miss in Lexington. The series had a 61-year hiatus, as the schools did not play from 1925 to 1986.

The Wildcats snapped an eight-game losing streak to Mississippi State last Saturday when they battled back from a five-run deficit to win, 8-7, in the nightcap of the doubleheader with the Dogs. The hot bat for UK belongs to junior center fielder Seth Morris. Morris launched two home runs to lead the Cats' comeback and finished the day going 4-for-8 (.500) with two runs scored, two homers and four RBIs. Morris leads UK in the following categories: Home runs (7), slugging percentage (.534), RBI (13), and total bases (47).

Ole Miss will challenge with senior center fielder Burney Hutchinson. A preseason All-American, Hutchinson is riding the crest of a 12-game hit streak into the Bluegrass. A first-team All-SEC pick in 2001, the Tupelo, Miss. native, leads UM in almost every offensive category, including games started (25), at-bats (102), runs (33) hits (39), doubles (11), triples (2) and home runs (5).

The series will continue on Saturday, March 30 at 2 p.m. ET and will finish up on Easter Sunday, March 31 with a 1:30 p.m. ET starting time. Projected pitching rotation for the weekend:

Friday, 3/29    Joseph Blanton (RHP), UK     3-2, 1.99 ERA, 64 K
		J.R. Pickens (RHP), UM       4-1, 2.54 ERA, 46 K
Saturday, 3/30	Scott Wade (RHP), UK         3-4, 6.53 ERA, 34 K
		Pete Montrenes (RHP), UM     5-2, 4.74 ERA, 31 K
Sunday, 3/31	Cory Hahn (RHP), UK          2-3, 3.50 ERA, 19 K
		Alan Horne (RHP), UM         0-1, 8.38 ERA, 7 K